Difficult airway during pandemia: Case report

ABSTRACT

We present a 38 years female patient with known difficult airway associated with an important anatomic deformation due to a tumoral removal back in 2014 (maxilectomy). This patient was scheduled for a new tumoral resection at the base of the skull, which was considered a potential regrowth of her maxilar sinus cancer, and because of that, the surgery admitted no delays. A multi-disciplinary approach is convenied and an AFOi with topical airway anesthesia and dexmedetomidine sedation is planned to secure the airway during surgery. The main Objective was to optimize the protective measures against SARS Cov2 transmission while securing spontaneous ventilation and patient collaboration during the procedure. To achieve this it was necessary a complex and multi-disciplinary teamwork between de intervening personal. Eventually the airway approach was successful and the surgery was carried out uneventfully. The patient was extubate and taken to the post anesthesia care unit with no recall nor sequel of the procedure. © 2020 Sociedad de Anestesiologia de Chile. All rights reserved.